Fitness Philosopher

Going Against the Grain.

Whether this was written by George Carlin or not, I love the message.

Paradox of Our Time
By George Carlin?

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. . .
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May we all live fulfilling lives because we sidestep these trends. . .

Picture Perfect Weight

Consider this scenario. . .

You dedicate 12 weeks to improving your nutrition habits, managing your stress and training hard . . . and the results are in:

• The hypertension and high cholesterol you had?  Gone.
• Your energy levels are consistently through the roof.
• You sleep better.
• You look refreshed, awake, younger.
• You can see a tangible improvement in your physique and the clothes that once tightly clung to you are falling off.
• Your friends and family can't take their eyes off you and are amazed at the transformation you've made.
• You never imagined that you could sustain a healthy lifestyle for 12 weeks, let alone achieve it. . .  and then have a desire to maintain it.
• You are living life to the fullest and filled with happiness.
• You LOVE the way you look.

Can you picture this?  Do you have this image burned into your mind?

Now, you step on the scale in front of you for the big weigh in.  You look down with anticipation and discover. . . that you weigh 2 pounds more than when you started.

Does that change anything?

Too Much Weight on Weight Loss?

Christopher's Commentary:

We can't seem to shake this obsession over calories in vs calories out and scale weight, can we?

In terms of energy, a calorie is a calorie - whether that calorie comes from fat or carb (or protein).  It does not matter what the source is if we're only discussing food in the context of energy.

In regards to "what you weigh," that number tells you next to nothing outside of, well, what you weigh.  There are more important variables to consider -- body composition, cardiovascular health and overall metabolic function -- and they are determined more by the quality of the food you eat, not the quantity. (Thankfully, this article does point this "quality factor" out.)

So, neither the fat nor carb calories showed an advantage over the other in terms of weight loss?  No big deal.  Be wary of headlines like this that sensationalize the link between calories - whether they come from fat or carbs - and scale weight.  It's akin to judging a book by it's cover. . . and one of the reasons why Eugene and I, in our book Unlock Your Strength, suggest that you throw your scale out the window. . .

Which Are Worse: Calories from Carbs or Fat?
Time.com Consultations

(July 15, 2008) -- If you're one of millions of Americans trying to lose weight, you probably wish you had a more effective diet than the one you're on now. And if you're wondering whether Dean Ornish's low-fat diet will help you shed pounds better than Dr. Atkins' low-carb menu, the answer is simple: it doesn't matter. Scientists know that on a molecular level, different types of starch and different types of fat have varying effects when they hit the body. But in terms of weight loss, low-fat diets and low-carb diets overall are equally effective (and, most of the time, neither will help you keep the weight off long-term), says Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.  (More. . . )

How To Experience Heart Failure Without High Cholesterol.

Read the article below.  It'll do the trick. . .

Christopher's Commentary:

Will the insanity ever end?  Apparently, the memo still hasn't gotten out that healthy fats and cholesterol are not the enemy -- despite countless studies that have pointed this out.  Or that there are plenty of alternatives to giving synthetic drugs to anybody, let alone children.  Anybody around here ever considered processed foods, refined carbohydrates or sugar to be a problem?

At least the American Academy of Pediatrics had the wherewithal to suggest that "the first course of action should be weight loss, more physical activity and nutritional counseling."  Hmmmm.  As long as the nutritional counseling is not "heart healthy" as determined by the ADA or FDA (read: low fat, high carb), these obese kids might have a fighting chance.

Cholesterol Drugs Recommended for Some 8-year-olds
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (July 7, 2008) -- For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

It also stems from recent research showing that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for children, Daniels said.  (More. . .)

Supernatural Intelligence.

The physical organism, your body, has its own intelligence, as does the organism of every other life-form.  And that intelligence reacts to what your mind is saying, reacts to your thoughts.  So emotion is the body's reaction to your mind.  The body's intelligence is, of course, an inseparable part of universal intelligence, one of its countless manifestations.  It gives temporary cohesion to the atoms and molecules that make up your physical organism.  It is the organizing principle behind the workings of all the organs of the body, the conversion of oxygen and food into energy, the heartbeat and circulation of the blood, the immune system that protects the body from invaders, the translation of sensory input into nerve impulses that are sent to the brain, decoded there, and reassembled into a coherent inner picture of outer reality.  All these, as well as thousands of other simultaneously occurring functions, are coordinated perfectly by that intelligence. You don't run your body.  The intelligence does.  It also is in charge of the organism's responses to its environment. (emphasis mine)
     -- Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, p. 132

Eckhart's description of universal intelligence reminds us. . .

• Why we can't out-train consistently lousy nutrition.
• Why negative thoughts can kill your training, whether it's before a session or during a rep.
• Why we have to train intelligently.
• Why awareness is a principle that must be developed and applied. . . and
• Why a foundation of health is critical for reaching (and maintaining) our maximum potential.

The more we understand and respect this concept, the greater the odds that we'll experience the results we're striving for.

Five Misconceptions of Exercise.

Heidi, Health Nut Wannabe Mom and one of my "online training" success stories, recently interviewed me about five common misconceptions of exercise.  To top things off, she shared the interview as a guest post on EZGreatLife.com -- a blog authored by John that focuses on "family, fitness and finances." 

Are you training smart, or have you fallen prey to one of the many misconceptions that exist?  Learn more by reading the article below!

Many thanks to Heidi and John for this opportunity and their support!

Five Misconceptions of Exercise
Heidi Cudnik

(7/1/2008) -- Exercise, exercise, exercise. Sometimes that word makes me want to throw the covers over my head and pretend I never heard it. Now, keep in mind that I am health nut wannabe mom and not health nut you-got-it-down mom so sometimes the whole exercise and nutrition thing can be a bit overwhelming. The great thing is that there are experts out there to help guide the wannabe’s like me until we can actually become the real thing. I decided to go to the best fitness professional that I knew of to get to the bottom of what is really going to make you lose fat and make you healthier in your exercise/training routine. I did a really informative and shocking ( I thought it was shocking because I had for years been doing most of the exercise misconceptions) interview with Christopher Warden , a New York City fitness professional and co-author of the fitness book Unlock Your Strength. This is a terrific list put together by Christopher Warden that I hope will help you as much as it has helped me to get my exercise and training routine to be its most efficient.

Five Misconceptions Of Exercise

1. Steady-state cardiovascular training (“cardio”) is the best way to lose body fat. Going out and running long distances may be great for a couple of things – pure enjoyment and, well, getting better at running long distances – but burning fat is not one of them. Why?  (More. . . )

Last One Standing.

"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." -- Vince Lombardi

My daughter Grace has been standing for a few weeks and is now learning to cruise.  During an attempt yesterday, she fell on her face.

Undeterred (after a frustrated cry or two), she stood back up, took a small step and. . . landed on her butt.

And with this experience, she illustrated a point that all of us would do well to remember:

1. Have no fear.
2. Push your limits.
3. If you fall (fail), stand back up, brush yourself off and try again -- using the wisdom from your fall to take you further than before.

Failure is an essential part of life.  Embrace it.  After all, if you don't land on your butt a few times, you won't know how to avoid it in the future.

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"It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done." -- Samuel Smiles

How Much Do You REALLY Know?

Finding a way to put today's message into words was challenging.  Then I remembered this scene from Good Will Hunting:

The lesson Sean conveys to Will is powerful, but the emotions generated in the way he conveys it is even moreso.  I wonder if the message would've resonated the same if it had been left only to written word.

Which is exactly the point of what I wanted to share with you (and remind myself of) . . . 

Book smart is one thing.  Knowledge through experience is something else.

The technical knowledge we gather from books is critical -- without it, it's hard to build understanding about this life we're trying to be a part of.  But if we limit our knowledge to books - even if we've read every piece of material that exists on a topic; even if it's the most in-depth knowledge that written word can share - do we really know as much as we think?

One of the greatest challenges we face is going beyond our mind and feeling life as we live it.  Feeling requires and openness to being vulnerable.  Being vulnerable pushes you to face your fears. . . and defeat them.

Make an effort to TOUCH, SMELL, TASTE, HEAR and SEE all that life has to offer.  It's not easy, but a concerted effort to do so can save you from going through life without "having the faintest idea of what you're talking about."

Appointment with Change.

"Be assured that you'll always have time for the things you put first."   -- Liane Steele

"I need to take care of the kids. . ."

"Work at the office is piling up. . ."

"I'll be traveling all week. . ."

"I've got an early morning business meeting. . ."

"I've got a business dinner. . ."

Okay.  You're busy.  But these same responsibilities existed when you were working with a trainer.  You  consistently scheduled -- and followed through -- with your appointments then. . .

How is now any different just because you're training on your own?

Make a point to physically schedule training time into your day. . . and then respect that time as you would any other appointment or meeting.

"Time to train" won't just magically appear for you -- you've got to create it and obligate yourself to it whether you're using a coach. . . or coaching yourself.

A Bit of Father's Day Wisdom.

You've probably noticed that I've got a soft spot for inspirational quotes.  So, as we recognize this Father's Day, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from H. Jackson Brown's A Father's Book of Wisdom.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you.  Never excuse yourself. -- Henry Ward Beecher

Challenges can be stepping stones or stumbling blocks.  It's just a matter of how you view them. -- Unknown

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice. -- Old Indian saying

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.  -- Mark Twain

Don't be afraid to take big steps.  You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. -- David Lloyd George

What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.  -- Coach Bear Bryant

It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.  -- Dad

There is no experience better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. -- John Andrew Holmer

Let your policy be quality.  -- Dad

There is no future in any job.  The future lies in the man who holds the job. -- George Crane

Never, never, never, never give up.  -- Winston Churchill